Blues Bros.Bees

While Elwood toasts a piece of bread on a wire over a hot plate, Jake falls asleep to the sounds of elevated trains passing just outside the window. The room shakes constantly. It ain't much, but it's home.

And so it must be for the bees living at the base of the DART light rail track support structure near Central Expressway and Renner Road just ten feet from the pedestrian trail. The city of Richardson doesn't tout the bee development on its webpage about transit-oriented /mixed use developments, maybe because of the thistles.

These large bees dig tunnels into the ground, and fly in and out. I see them visit the thistle flowers nearby. They aren't  interested in me, but I am intrigued by their tunnels. My zoom camera function combined with the active bees hasn't led to a good close-up yet.

This doesn't seem to be a community working together, but a close concentration of solitary tunnels--a condominium complex, not an Anasazi cliff dwelling.

Don't know diddley about bees, but I did see Bo perform once in a dark and smoky hive. What bees are these? Most ground nesting native bees are solitary, not social. They are important pollinators, but don't make honey. They mind their own buzzness. Maybe miner, maybe digger bees.

Mark your calendars and plan your parties!  Pollinator Week is coming soon, June 17-23.

Mesa Verde cliff dwelling--1978 vacation

All photos and text © 2013 Nancy L. Ruder with rights reserved.